The time had finally come in life
when Mama was done paying her dues,
So none of her kids could understand
why she still wore raggedy shoes.

Sit down children for a little while
and let me try to explain,
How these raggedy shoes for me represent
years of joy and years of pain.

See how the tongues of these old shoes
are flimsy and rather worn,
Just like those of all the people
as each of you were born.

I know the soles are badly rundown
with holes flapping in the wind,
Well, those are just the doorways to receive
the many blessings God would send.

And the places that you see
which are marked and really scuffed,
Those I got going up the mountain
where every side was rough.

From the sorrow and grief
that I couldn't outrun,
Came the dirt from the graves
of my deceased loved ones.

And these dirty old laces frail and weak
are like the sttrings of my broken heart,
Broken, but yet strong enough
to still do their part.

So Mama's still wearing her raggedy shoes
for the reasons we've been told
And when she gets to Heaven, she's going to trade them in
for slippers made of gold.